Time and its miscounting: methodological challenges in the study of citizenship boundaries
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Accepted manuscript
Date
2020-12-23
Authors
Lori, Noora
Version
Published version
Accepted manuscript
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
N. Lori. 2020. "Time and its Miscounting: Methodological Challenges in the Study of Citizenship Boundaries." International Journal of Middle East Studies, Volume 52, Issue 4, pp. 721 - 725. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020743820001002
Abstract
One would think that, after years of fieldwork and writing, I would be able to answer a pretty simple and straightforward question about who exactly I interviewed for my study of citizenship boundaries in the UAE: “Do you have any notion of the proportions [of interlocuters] of the different ethnic or descent lines that you spoke to?” This essay is about why it is so difficult to answer this question and the insights into citizenship that unfolded as I searched for an empirical answer. Spoiler alert: Answers to questions about “national” or “ethnic” origin are entirely dependent upon how we count—and miscount—time.
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© The Author(s) (2020). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Studies Association.